1. A January 11, 2017 European vote-of-confidence, in Israel’s economy, took place in the London Stock Exchange, when Israel sold to British, German and French financial institutions 2.25BN Euros in 10 and 20 year government bonds, while demand surged to 9.8BN Euros. It was Israel’s biggest Euro offering ever.

7. According to Dr. Adam Reuter, CEO of Israel’s Financial Immunities, Israel’s economic performance has featured a 31% growth since 2008, compared to the OECD average of 10% and the USA’s 12%; Israel’s GDP growth per capita surged from $27,000 to $38,000, compared to the OECD growth from $35,000 to $40,000 (Israel’s fertility rate – 3.13 births per woman – is much higher than the OECD’s rate of 1.6 births per woman, hence the large proportion of still non-employed Israeli youth, which lowers the GDP per capita).

8. The Jerusalem-based $9BN market-value car sensor manufacturer, Mobileye, collaborates with Germany’s giant car manufacturer, BMW, and with Intel in the development of an autonomous car. 40 trail autonomous cars are expected to be on the toads in the US and Europe by the second half of 2017. The Munich-based Roland Berger, an international consultancy firm, maintains that Israel has positioned itself at the forefront of the driverless/smart car revolution. Some 500 Israeli companies are devoted to various aspects of the smart car industry, and over $1.6BN was raised by them in recent years.

10. 250,000 tourists visited Israel during December, 2016 – a new record – bringing the total of 2016 tourists to 2.9MN, a 3.6% increase over 2015.

Thus, Israel, a well-established military and intelligence powerhouse – a producer of national security for the US, pro-US Arab states and the Free World – is increasingly integrated into the global economy, emerging as an economic and technological powerhouse – a producer of cutting edge technologies for the US and other advanced global economies.

Ambassador (ret.) Yoram Ettinger is consultant to Israel’s Cabinet members and Israeli legislators, and lecturer in the U.S., Canada and Israel on Israel’s unique contributions to American interests, the foundations of U.S.-Israel relations, the Iranian threat, and Jewish-Arab issues.